Shaggys Little Secret
by Karianasan
Summary: Like the others, Shaggy isn't one without some Secrets. And this is the story of when Fred found out one that the lanky man had under his sleeve... or cape. Part three of Five, of the Secrets series.


With a book tucked under one arm, Fred wandered into Coolsville local library. Dressed in his normal duds, he had finished his rental a while ago and finally got around to bringing the book back to the library. Thankfully not late, less he would have angered the Head Librarian Ms. Maenard. Which was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Good afternoon Frederick."

Greeted the small golden-haired librarian that was manning the main desk as he entered. Miss Gracken was an older lady, most likely in her seventies and was more comfortably dressed. More of the thin sweater throw kind of lady, then the neat and tidy businesses suits of Ms. Maenard, her boss. A friendly looking and aged mother figure that could be a strict task masker if you broke one of the rules of the library. Otherwise, she was a sweet older woman. Receiving and renting out books, and there to answer questions if he had any.

"Good afternoon Miss Gracken." Fred restrained himself and answered politely. Trying not to grumble in front of the librarian about what she called him. Though he preferred people calling him "Fred", several ladies of authority called him his full name anyway. Probably since his mom and her scrap booking club met at the library every Tuesday and gabbing about her favorite son, was high on Peggy's list. ( _Ignoring the fact that he was her 'only' son._ )

"I'm here to return this one. And maybe look and see what new came in. See if anything catches my attention."

Fred replied, handing over his book and cast a glance in the direction he was thinking of heading. The library was decent sized, and his preferences for things to read was wide ranging. From reading mystery novels like Agatha Christy, to a DIY book he just was returning. Not much was out of his spectrum for reading. Though he certainly enjoyed some subjects more the others. Though not as far reaching as Velma, who would devour anything she could get her greedy little hands on.

"Good luck in your search!" Ms. Gracken chirped at him, giving him a nod. Fred took a few steps into the library when Miss Gracken remembered something. Calling out to Fred before he got too far. Waving her hand at him, even though his back was towards her.

"Oh, be a dear and don't disturb your friend, ok? They should be in the middle of reading."

Nodding his head and waving back to the librarian, he moved further into the book racks. Though the wording of Ms. Gracken was nagging him. Making his brows furrow at the oddity.

' _Don't disturb your friend? Why would I bug Velma when she is reading? I mean, I might poke her shoulder and wave hi, but why would she say not to bother her? Hm?_ '

Pondering the phrase, it only made sense in his head that it could mean Velma, right? Daphne had taken off to the mall, and Shaggy was visiting his parents today. And it wouldn't be Scooby, since the Dane wasn't much for reading unless it was a cook book, and he had seen the dog passed out on the couch before he left. So, Velma made the most sense to his detective brain. Well, unless there was a clue he was missing.

"Well, all I need to do is not bug her." Fred shrugged and said to himself under his breath. Not trying to speak too loudly and break the number one rule of the library.

Pushing the comment out of his head, he moved through the library to see what caught his attention today. Glancing back and forth at books, he skimmed titles and occasionally picked things up. But nothing was really grabbing him. He continued to move on... eventually heading towards the young reader section. He had found a few good books there in the past, so maybe that would be what his mood was searching for. A gripping story but a lighter read might be exactly what he was looking for.

In the library, the ground floor had the main entrance way and the main desk to return books to. It sat in the middle of the library, splitting it in two halves. On either side to the right and left, the library had shelving of books, DVD's, and whatever else you wanted to borrow. But they were mainly geared towards adults or older readers on the main floor. And on several sections in the building itself, there were stairs that lead to a downstairs area. As you walked down the stairs, it was decked out for children. With brighter colors and cute animals painted on the walls to greet the eager young readers. And, well the occasional wandering older visitors, like Fred.

Trotting down the stairs, Fred gave a look about the basement in order to see where the older youth section might be. While this was mainly for the younger crowd, there was a section that was for kind of beginning teenagers but not as old enough to be added to the collection upstairs. That was the section he was aiming for. He didn't come down here often, so he needed to look around for what he was searching for.

...Or he could just check the computers.

Pulling out a chair that was way too small for him, he crouched down and felt like he was typing between his knees. As the furniture and computers were made for users far shorter than him...

' _Though I bet Velma would fit perfectly on it._ '

Snickering to himself, he was glad she wasn't nearby to sense his ' _little_ ' mental jab at her. Hoping her sixth sense might not find him down in the basement. Typing away at the miniature keyboard, it took him only a few moments to find what he was looking for. The general area he was looking for, was across the basement to find about the books he might be interested in.

Stretching from the small chair, Fred shifted himself back into shape and started to move to the section where he might find a tale that would entertain him. A series would be ever better!

"Man, such tiny chairs. But I'm glad the kids can use them. Though... oh man. I bed Shaggy would look equally silly as I did, with his knees sticking up on either side as he tried to sit down on... _**COMMANDER COOL!**_ " Muttering to himself, he was rambling in amusement till something caught his eye. Raising his voice at the end, a bit louder than the earlier whisper.

Clamping his hands over his mouth, he quickly Mystery Dove to hide behind a stack of shelving, out of line of sight. Crouching as low as he could get, he crab walked himself to the other side of the waist high book shelf he took cover behind and peered through some of the books to see the group he just hid from. Staying out of the line of sight, and able to get a better view at what he thought he just saw.

Some of the children were still looking at where he disappeared from in confusion, but most had turned back to someone who was in front of them. In the center of the room, was an open section where the children had gathered. It seemed that a gaggle of kids were sitting in a bean bag pile, all collected around a tall man, sitting on a chair that was obviously too small for his stature. Knees sticking out awkwardly to the sides, so he was able to show off the book he was reading to them, and still able to read it himself. And reading to the kids, was a grade 'A' Superhero!

Dressed head to two in White spandex, with white shorts where most super heroes had their underwear on the outside. The only bits of color on the costume, was a golden stripe on the shorts, and a vertical strip of light blue with a large golden C across his chest. And also, dark blue cape and boots, with a wraparound pair of goggles with accents of the same dark blue as the cape and boots. He also had a pair of white gloves; but they sat in a pile beside him, letting the Superhero turn the pages of the book that he held in front of him as he was telling a story to the young kids.

Fred knew this Hero all too well. He was Commander Cool. A famous cartoon character from his youth, that comic was still running to this day. And one that Shaggy and Scooby were a big fan of... And the Commander Cool that sat there, looked very familiar. With his very un-cannon mop of brown untamed hair that sat on top of his head. Where the original character had a full head covering mask.

' _Well, Now I know who Miss Gracken meant. Yeesh. But I didn't know Shaggy came here to read to the kids._ ' Fred continued to peer at Shaggy reading. ' _And dressed up like that. Good on him for coming to read to the kids! I didn't know he still had a Commander Cool outfit that fit him. I'm not terribly surprised though. I wonder if he joins Velma on Free Comic Book day in that, heh._ '

Fred mentally snickered, proud of his best friend doing this for the kids of the neighborhood. Wondering if Daniel and Thomas were the culprits that dragged him into it, or if Shaggy got the idea on his own. He would have to ask the man later. Either way, Fred was super proud of his Hero buddy for doing that for the local kids.

But as Fred was mentally talking to himself, he didn't notice that Shaggy had wrapped up the tale and the children were all giving him hugs. Quickly crossing the space, he was making his way towards where Fred was hiding. The Man noticing a bit **too late**!

Eyes growing wide as he flipped around and pressed himself lightly against the bookshelf. Crouched with his knees and arms out, he cast a glance up at Shaggy, who leaned over the waist high book shelf he was hiding behind. Perching his head on his palms, positioning himself between two of the books on display, Shaggy didn't look at Fred but instead past him.

"Like' the kids are ready to go home."

"..."

Following his gaze, Fred found that there wasn't just another book shelf behind him, or some type of wall. Instead there was a bit of a gap before the actual wall... As a small gaggle of mothers were waiting till their kids were done with the Shaggy reading. Sitting in larger chairs, staring at the grown man who awkwardly was crouched before them and seemed to be looking creepily at their kids.

Standing up straight, Fred snapped to his feet. A bright red flush came over his face as he tried to come up with anything to say to explain what he was doing and that he wasn't someone to be worried about. Being tongue tied for a moment, his brain running away with himself and not being helpful at the moment to solve this problem. Inwardly wishing it was a pack of monsters, rather than Moms.

He at least would be better at dealing with that, in this sudden situation!

"Wow! Who is that, Commander Cool?"

Came the call from one of the kids. Catching the attention of the rest of the pack, who turned and wandered over to where Fred was. Peering around the shelving to look at him. Some even coming up to poke him and tug on an arm. Being caught between a pack of inquisitive kids, and Moms giving him the stink eye... Fred fell back into Mystery Leader Mode. Using the unclaimed arm to straighten his ascot and then shift his attention to the kids by him.

"Are you a superhero too?!" One little kid asked.

"Nah, he can't be one, where is his super suit?" Another cut in.

"But look how big his shoulders are! He looks like Superman wide!" Said one little girl, holding open her arms out to show just how 'wide' superman could be.

Though Fred would consider that a compliment, though it had been a while since he had seen 'Sups' to compare their shoulders. But he figured Superman did have him beat in that regard.

"Shhhhh…. He's under cover." Shaggy leaned down and motioned the kids to come around him. Placing a hand to the side of his mouth to keep it a secret from the Mom's. "You like' know… His secret identity. So, you have to be hush hush about this. This is my pal..."

Shaggy momentarily had a devious thought to call Fred 'Meddling Man', but Fred didn't do anything wrong or really annoying or angering to be that mean to call him that to the kids. So, he changed his mind and replied quickly.

"My pal Mystery Man! And he is here to pick me up."

Stretching back to his normal height, Shaggy then placed his arm around Fred and smiled. Which calmed down the ladies from shooting daggers at Fred.

"What did you say Sha... I mean Commander Cool?"

"Oh nothing, just telling the kids like', you were incognito. And that you were here to pick me up." Pulling Fred close, he reassured the moms and gave the kids a wave. Making sure that they all got picked up and found their proper parent before he left. Tugging Fred on the shoulder, he waved a hand toward where Shaggy had been sitting to start cleaning up.

Seeing as the ladies lightened up seeing that Shaggy approved of the weird man that had been acting strangely, they shifted their attention to their kids. Which was a relief to Fred, letting out a sigh and trotting to follow Shaggy and give him a hand. Noticing that Shaggy was stacking the bean bags in a section that seemed to be where they normal sat when they weren't being used for the reading time.

"Man, Commander Cool, it's sure awesome that you are reading to the kids."

"I have been doing this for a while." Shaggy beamed, closing the book he had been reading and placed it back to the stand where it had been plucked from. He liked using the 'recommended reading' as his choices. Though sometimes he was able to bring some actual Commander Cool Comics to read as a well, as long as the Librarian's approved of the message in that particular comic.

"I bet your parents would be happy to head that, compared to visiting them." Fred jabbed, casting a side glance and watching the other man stiffen up.

"... I did like' say that... didn't I?" Gulping a little bit, Shaggy just realized that his secret was out. Or more so that he was caught in a lie by his best friend and detective.

Fred laughed, only meaning to pick on him a bit. He had kept his own secrets, so it's not like he was one to talk. Though it did seem silly that Shaggy had been hiding it from them. Especially since it was such a great thing for him to be doing!

"Nah, no worries. I guess I shouldn't be telling the girls about it?"

"Well, Daphne knows. Heh." Shaggy tugged a bit on his own cape, and laughed. He had needed some help, and being dressed up like Commander Cool made it easier for him to do this. Not that it was all that scary overall, but being his favorite Super Hero made things certainly easier.

"Ha, I can see that. I bet she had a field day making that for you. Though I think it's kinda silly hiding it from the two people who are most likely to actually come to the library. But, oh well. You'll just have to hope Velma doesn't find you next time... Oh, Does Scooby have a Mellow Mutt as well to match?" Fred brushed his hands off one another and turned to Shaggy. Awaiting to see if there was anything else he could help with.

"Well, true. I didn't think about it like that. But it's been several months since I started, so this is the first time one of you guys found me. But, yeah. Scooby does have his own new costume from Daphne, but he wasn't good at sitting still and ended up making a ruckus when I took him here for the first time. So, he stays home when I come here." Putting back the chair he used, Shaggy looked over the area and gave it an approving nod. Everything was back into place, till next time.

"So, why did you like' come down here? Were you looking for something?"

"Ah, yeah. I forgot with seeing you here, I lost track of my own objective. I was trying to find a new book series to sink my teeth into. Something not too crazy, but interesting. More along the young adult side of things." Fred asked, peering a bit in the direction he had been heading before he got caught off guard by Super Shaggy.

"Oh, I might know something..." Leading the way, Shaggy confidently strode through the short shelving. Had he been any taller, it almost would have seemed like he was Ultra man sized. Walking among the buildings to face down an evil doer monster. Though Fred bet that not even dressed like Commander Cool, would have given Shaggy enough confidence to go toe to toe with a monster... Unless he knew the person in the suit, and it was acting for the kids.

That was an idea though... Fred would have to bring that up to Shaggy and Daphne later. He bet the kids would love to watch a good old Kaiju battle in their library.

"Hey Fred, you might like this one!" Shaggy said, tossing a small book at Fred for him to catch. His momentary metal distraction almost made him miss the book. But he managed to not bungle the catch and take a look at the recommendation.

It wasn't a thick book, but not many books were in this section of the library. But the word count didn't matter if the story was good enough. That is what Fred was really looking for anyway. So, he looked at the cover. A shaggy brown dog sat in the middle of the cover, reminding him of a certain book recommending person… Peeking out from behind one side of the dog was a small, ginger tabby cat. And sitting on the paws of the large fluffy dog was a small black and white rabbit. With…

"Is that fangs I see? Well, I guess it is, with the book being named Bunnicula. So, it's Dracula as a bunny rabbit?" Fred guessed, using the name of the book as a guide. Turning it over to read the small blurb on the back.

"Something like that." Shaggy added. "A family finds a rabbit after they leave the movie theater, and name him that since they just saw Dracula on film. And the book is from the point of view of the dog there, Harold I think his name was. As he observes the rabbit and the mysterious goings on around him. And the cat there is trying to take out the bunny, thinking that he is a vampire and is a danger to the family. Lots of fun to read! The kids love it!"

Shaggy said with a laugh. "And talk about vampire veggies! Now that is a monster I can sink my teeth into. Eh heh heh."

"Neat. Well, let me go borrow this. I figure you have to sneak off to become your alter-ego. So, should I meet you upstairs?" Fred assumed that no matter how much courage wearing the Commander Cool outfit gave Shaggy, it probably wasn't enough to go walking out in public like that. And if it was, man... He would need Daphne to make him a superhero outfit as well!

"Ah, yeah. I'll meet you upstairs. It won't take me too long." Reaching around one of the shelves, Shaggy pulled out a small backpack that Fred knew. It must have been where he had put his normal clothes, while he was in costume. But nearby enough to Clark Kent it and be able to head home.

Tucking the book under one arm, Fred headed back upstairs to check out and then wait for Shaggy. Though the wait was short, since they had a lifetime of changing outfits that a simple costume change took seconds for the skilled detective. It was one of the core skills they had in their mystery solving back pocket, making the trek upstairs to join him, take the longest time.

"You ready?"

"Yep!"

"Any plans for dinner yet?"

"I dunno, I have to see what like' Scooby dreamed up while I was gone. He might have an idea already."

"Ah, so that was Scooby hard at work, eh?"

"Heh, Yep. Dreaming away all the tasty meals we will be making."

"Sounds like a perfect job for him."

Chatting up about miscellaneous things as they headed towards the Mystery Machine, it seemed like the little event had been all but over. But Fred wasn't ready for what happened next...

"MOMMY **MOMMY!** Look! **It's Mystery Man!** And that must be the **Mystery mobile!** He was here to pick up **Commander Coo** l, **and he's a Super Hero in disguise!** " Shouted the little girl who had compared his shoulders to Superman's. Tugging fiercely on her tired mom's arm as they finally had been making their way out of the library and probably heading home finally. The mom tried to calm her down, but she was just jumping up and down in excitement over the idea of seeing another Super Hero.

Fred looked over at the commotion that she was making, and as cool as he thought the idea of having the Mystery Machine as his sweet ride enough to be called a 'mobile' like Batman's awesome ride. Fred really didn't know what to do to quiet the girl from making such a clatter over him. It felt almost as weird as it was now to get people to sign his old book, not knowing how to react to the little girl becoming an instant fan of his imaginary persona. But Shaggy was on it. Pulling out his glasses from his Commander Cool outfit, he smoothly placed it on, and waved to get her attention.

Her eyes went wide, putting two and two together and realizing the slouchy man with the poofy hair beside Mystery Man was in fact, Commander Cool. Her attention was glued to Shaggy, as he grinned slightly and placed a single finger upon his lips. Her jaw dropped, and brain clicked in to what Shaggy had said earlier, with that being his secret identity and all that. Snapping her mouth shut, she made a small face of regret before she beamed a smile and tossed Shaggy a thumbs up and calmed down instantly. Much to the stressed mom's relief. Shaggy waved as the girl was being tugged towards home, leaving Fred utterly amazed.

"Wow. You really have Super Powers. That was amazing."

"Heh, nothing to it." Shaggy laughed, tucking his glasses into his bag for another day. "Let's get going, eh Fred? Off to go home!"

"Sounds like a plan, Shag. Let's go home." Shaking his head with a grin, he would have a hard time keeping this secret. Shaggy was just too dang cool!


End file.
